The invention relates to a device by a conveyor for items, such as packaging bodies of glass, for example, comprising means for raising the respective item from a lying position, in which the bottom of the item points in a random direction in the conveyor, into a standing position with its bottom down, facing the conveyor.
In conveyors of the above-mentioned type, e.g. reverse vending machines for beverage packaging of glass or other material, it is common, at least for the glass packaging, to be raised from a lying into a standing position. This is done to achieve a more suitable positioning of the items on a collecting table, which is necessary in order to have the packaging bodies sorted into crates or other suitable containers for transport. Other types of packaging of unbreakable materials, e.g. steel, aluminium and plastics, do not normally need to be placed on a collecting table. Therefore, unbreakable packaging bodies are commonly separated from the glass packaging bodies upstream of the raising means, in order to be placed subsequently into suitable collecting crates.
In the reverse vending machines previously known, the most common is for the packaging bodies to be guided towards the raising means in a specific orientation, i.e. normally with its bottom leading. Of course, the consumer will have to put the packaging body into the feed opening of the reverse vending machine, with the packaging body oriented in the assumed direction. Then, the packaging body is fixed for a course upstream through the reverse vending machine until reaching the raising means. Of course, the requirement for a particular orientation when the packaging body is being inserted, creates unnecessary trouble for the consumer. Further, suitable equipment is required in the reverse vending machine to detect and return packaging bodies which are inserted in incorrect orientation, and to lock the packaging body in the relevant direction towards the raising means. This involves larger expenses when purchasing reverse vending machines, and causes undesirable stoppage in the event of failure, so that both operating cost and maintenance cost will increase.
However, conveyors do exist, cf. FR 2.083.158 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,690,437, which are constructed so that the items may be guided towards the raising means in random orientations. In both cases the conveyor comprises a raising means which can be swung up, and which hangs down from an upper axle before the arrival of the respective bottle. To turn and raise the bottle, the raising means has an opening opposite its axle, which opening is adapted to hold round the neck of the bottle, when it is the neck that approaches the raising means first. The raising takes place in that the raising means is being swung up, with the bottle neck held firmly within the opening. On the other hand, bottles approaching with their bottoms first, have the correct orientation, and as a consequence of their bottoms being larger than the opening, they will pass without being turned, but here too the raising means will be swung up. Conveyors of this type are space demanding, especially because of the upward slope of the feed track, downstream of the raising means. Moreover, they are primarily meant to be used when bottles in large numbers are to be raised simultaneously in the conveyor, the conveyor comprising several raising means arranged sideways, one after the other. The fact that the raising means is arranged to grip round the bottle neck probably also involves the risk of undesired operational irregularities, so that some bottles may pass without being turned into the upright position by the raising means. Unless the conveyor is also arranged to slow down bottles, which would otherwise fall freely upstream of the raising means, the bottles may be damaged or break due to the relatively large height of fall.
An important object of the invention is to provide a device for a conveyor of the type mentioned above, of a construction far more compact and with fewer single components than what has been common so far. This provides the advantage that, without trouble, the device according to the invention may be incorporated into any relevant equipment, e.g. a deposit automate for beverage packaging. Another object is that the respective bottle shall not be lifted by the raising means when being raised, so that no extra push force is needed against the bottle from the conveyor when the bottle is being raised. Further objects are to provide the best operational stability possible, so that all bottles are raised, and at the same time there is no risk of damaging the bottles.
As appears from the characterizing part of the present independent Claim, the above objects and other objects of the invention will be realized in the way that the raising means has the form of a rising means that extends, prior to the item""s entering the raising means, in an extension of an upper portion of the conveyor. Further, the raising means is rotationally supported about an axis, which is positioned downstream of the center of gravity of the item when the item has entered the raising means, so that on rotation of the raising means the item is raised into its standing position with its bottom turned down towards a lower portion of the conveyor. Other advantageous features of the invention will appear from the dependent Claims and otherwise from the specification.